Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a technique for performing high resolution cross-sectional imaging that can provide images of tissue structure (e.g., skin tissues) on the micron scale. OCT method measures light-scattering specimens on their inside along the OCT beam.
Mohs micrographic surgery is excised from a patient under microscopic control for the complete excision of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and less commonly other types of skin cancer. The excised tissue specimen (i.e., a biopsy) is horizontally sliced to provide tissue sections which are then histologically prepared on slides. The slides are reviewed under a microscope to determine whether the tumor is fully contained in the excised tissue determined by the absence of the tumor in the edges or margins of the excised tissue. If the tumor is not fully contained in the excised tissue, additional tissue from the patient is excised and the procedure repeated until all tissue sections taken indicate the tumor has been removed from the patient. Biopsy and histological processing is the gold standard for tissue diagnosis. Thus Mohs surgery in general is very time consuming because it requires many biopsies. Application of OCT to create images of Mohs micrographic surgery specimens in an efficient way is thus very helpful.